My alternator on the '98 windstar 3.8L w/ 87k miles was busted last night. :(

I'm ordering from online stores like RockAuto, advanceautoparts.com etc.

Some of them specified "May Not come with Pulley", some don't. I called in but they said they are not sure. Sometimes the remanufacturer include the pulley and sometimes don't. so how do I know?

Any experience?

I bought one from Advance Auto Parts. It came with the pully.

However, the regulator module and brushes were different than the original one. It lasted about a year and failed. It had a warrenty, so I took it back for a replacment. That lasted another year and failed, although I was able to resurrect that one. One of the brushes had become siezed due to the poor "rebuild" work that was done. Once I freed it and cleaned it's guide, all worked well again.

As I have now purchased window lift motors from Carquest with similar results, I am not impressed with the workmanship of these rebuilds. In the future I plan to either rebuild them myself, or purchase rebuilds directly from a repuitable rebuilder. No more junk.

A lot of alternators fail because the brushes wear out. You can purchase new brushes, and if you can do the solder job, you can do your own rebuild.

When I bought our Windy's alternator from AutoZone, they had two listed. Both rebuilt, and about $12-15 price difference between the two. The cheaper one had a note in the system stating "Pully change required". The higher priced one however, comes with the correct pulley. I spent the extra cheese and didn't fool with changing the pully.

I bought a new one from Advance Auto Parts.
It came with pulley in place.

On my '96 (other years may be different) there is a alternator fuse in the engine compartment fuse / relay box (aka power distribution box).
It is fuse 'T'
If it is blown, the alternator will NOT work.

Also, if your battery is old / weak, I would change it.
A weak battery will be a stress on your new alternator....and will shorten its life.
I have the AutoZone Duralast "Gold", which is powerful at a good price.